Longed For Belonging
by jaberjazz
Summary: Sakura and Sasuke had seven children and Machiko Uchiha was the middle child. She was always ignored and berated in the clan. How long will she tolerate her family's treatment of her? Rated T Contains OCs SasuSaku, NaruHina, TenNeji, ShikaTema and more.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This chapter has been revised. If you've already read this chapter, please reread it again. Also, be sure to read the author's note at the end of the chapter as that has been edited with important info as well. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Naruto Shippuden. I do, however, own all OCs that are in this story.**

**The story takes place 17 years after Shippuden. **

" Hello." Talking or narrator

"_Hello." Thought or emphasis_

"**Hello." Demonic voice**

* * *

><p><em>Machiko Uchiha, 8 years old.<em>

* * *

><p>Despite my body's protest, I slowly got up from the ground. Scratches and bruises painted it selves all over my body. My body ached so badly that I wanted to cry. However, I don't want my dad to think, let alone see, how weak I was. Bad enough my sister Leiko thinks that I'll become a genin who "can't amount to anything more than a pure, completely useless nuisance that will hinder the team." I refuse to prove her right.<p>

Though pathetically, I managed to stand up and look at my father. We both look so much alike. We got the same complexion, eye color, and we kind of have the same hair color. While my hair is prominently black, some strands are pink which makes it look like I have pink highlights.

Looking irritated, my dad studied me with his arm crossed for a minute before he gave up and sighed. "Machiko," his stern voice made me wince. "I am disappointed with your progress thus far." I couldn't help but look down in shame like a dog getting scolded by its owner. "When your sister and your brothers were your age, they were already high level genin _and_ had unlocked the Sharigan."

"But you…you not only have yet to unlock your Sharigan, but you have small chakra reserves, a non-existent affinity to genjutsu, horrible taijutsu skills, and are horrible at ninjutsu."

Each word he said felt like a slap in the face. It's not like I'm not trying to improve. Everyday since I was three I've been training and trying to get to my siblings level. I don't understand what I could be doing wrong.

A tear escaped from my eye and went down my pale, bruised cheek. Luckily for me, my bangs were covering my face so my dad didn't see it. I still just don't understand; I always train my hardest and go over my limit whenever I train with him, but it's still never enough to please him and I think it never will.

I could feel my dad studying me some more. He must be thinking-no, he _is_ thinking-that I am a failure. Compared to my older siblings at this age, I am pathetically weak. Maybe Leiko was right, maybe I won't ever be a strong ninja.

From the distance I heard the all too familiar feminine voice yelling at us from the house.

"Sasuke and Machiko! Hurry and freshen yourselves up and come back down for dinner!" My mom yelled through the window. While my dad looked at her direction, I took the opportunity to wipe tears away before he could see. The last thing I need him to do is think even lesser of me.

I started gathering the shurikens and kunais around me. I never cared to sharpen my tools so it was obvious which ones were whose. In an attempt to please father, I went ahead and separated them for him to save him the trouble of doing it himself. I put mine in my pouch and handed father his set. Without looking, he snatched them out of my hands and put the ninja tools in his pouch hastily. I held the hand he snatched the kunais and shurikens from to my chest. He may not know or care, but what he just did stung my heart deeply.

After one last glare at me, he turned around and started walking back to inside the house. Our training yard is surrounded by the rest of the Uchiha clan buildings. It's kind of like a room with no ceiling and it reminded me much of how the Hyuuga estate is.

I followed dad back into the house and said hello to my mother. Sakura was her name, and she was cleaning the dining room table in preparation for dinner. She was wearing a white apron with a regular, long sleeve red shirt underneath it and a dark gray skirt that went just a little past her knees. Her vibrant pink hair normally goes to her mid-back; however, today she decided to have it up in a ponytail. She always looks pretty to me.

Like usual, regardless if she does it on purpose or not, she didn't hear me and so I took this as a chance to quickly move through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into my room.

Once I got in my room, I slammed the door. I snatched my pouch off my waist and threw it on my bed. I was angry at myself. I was angry for not being strong like mom, dad, Leiko, and the rest of my clan. How come I had to be the weak one out of the family? What did I do wrong to be this weak?

All of a sudden I felt this pain on the right side of my neck. My first reaction was to put my left hand on the spot. It was a small burning sensation that lingered for a quick moment. For some reason after I train, I always get this feeling in my neck. I never told my parents about it and even if I did they probably wouldn't care.

"_Matter of fact, they would probably brush it off and scold me of being weak_."

Just as quickly as the pain came though, it went away. Seeing my mirror glistening from the sun rays it was reflecting, I went up to it and looked at my reflection. To put it bluntly I looked like a hot mess. My hair looked like a birds nest, my black pants were all torn up and my black shirt was practically shreds. Luckily, I had some bandage wrapped around my torso so my chest wasn't showing.

Like I do everyday after training, I pulled down the remnants of my collar and inspected my skin. I didn't see anything that would make my neck burn like that. There were only two markings I saw on my neck. The first one was a small bruise on the left side of my neck that I seem to always get or agitate each day I train. The other one is a birthmark that is located on the right side of my neck. It's a weird birthmark, considering that it only shows up if I use a large amount of chakra. It is shape like three triangles with its points circling the pressure point of my neck. As peculiar as it is, I know that the birthmark isn't the cause of the burning pain I occasionally get because…well, it's just a birthmark.

"_Right?_"

I stared at my birthmark with curiosity as it slowly faded into my skin and disappeared from view. With a long sigh, I grabbed my brush that was on my dresser and started brushing my dirty hair. My hair hovers around my shoulder by an inch. Despite everything, if there's one thing I do like about myself, it's that my hair is naturally soft and straight. Leiko has to blow dry and do a lot of stuff to hers just to get the effect.

I looked across my room to look at my alarm clock for the time. There was nothing fancy about my room. All I had was a dresser, a mirror, a lamp, a window, an alarm clock, a small shelf for my books and scrolls; and a bed. My bed was leveled next to the window so I could easily see out of it throughout the day.

I noticed the time on my clock and got worried.

"6:27…shoot I'm going to be late for dinner!" I hurriedly brushed my hair and started putting on some new pair of clothes. Being the clumsy person I am, I accidently knocked things off my dresser like a madman and bumped into my shelf at least a thousand times, successfully knocking down some of my books.

"_I'll worry about cleaning that up later; right now I need to get to the table before I get in trouble_."

While still putting my shirt on, I started to make my way out the door. Even though we rarely have dinner together as a family due to missions and whatnot, my mom makes sure to grab any opportunity she has to make us have dinner as a family. And today, for the first time in almost a month, everyone in the reviving Uchiha clan is home for the night. With that, along with the fact that she has always been strict about us being at dinner at 6:30 precisely, it would be best if I'm not late to dinner today of all days.

Not that I would ever be late.

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><p>I quickly went into to the kitchen to see my mom put my little brother Goro in his high chair. Goro was my younger brother, and is currently the youngest child in the family. Being the obedient child he is, he let mom do whatever she want without much fuss. My mom had a soft smile on her face and my dad, who was already waiting patiently at the table, looked pleased at the behavior Goro was already showing at his age. For a two year old, his obedient behavior is well above other babies his age. I could already tell that based on the behavior of my parents he's going to be the next favored child in this family.<p>

Sitting next to my dad was Leiko, who was quietly chatting across the table with my older brother Keiji. From the little bits I could gather, she was telling him about an old mission she did when she was a genin. To the right of Leiko was my other older brother, Akio, who was humming contently in his seat while staring off into space. Keiji was in between two empty chairs. That was because the chair to his left was for mom and the chair to his right was for me.

I went and took a seat at the table. I looked at the clock on the wall. I made it literally 2 seconds before it turned 6:30. I couldn't help but let out a sigh in relief and started to drink a glass of water mother had already set out for us. At least I won't be getting in trouble today.

Leiko stopped mid conversation and gave me a condescending look. "An Uchiha isn't supposed to be sighing in relief at something as small as making it to dinner on time. If you're like this now, I'm scared to see how you are during missions. Then again, you're so weak that you probably won't even _become_ a ninja." She sneered at me.

I bit the bottom of my lip. She always do this every time we get together to have dinner. I can't stand her. Matter of fact, I borderline I hate her. At any opportunity she has she makes sure to somehow berate me and make herself look better.

"Leiko, leave Machiko alone. Just because she isn't an idiot like you, doesn't mean she won't become a ninja!" Akio said in my defense while pointing a finger at her. While the comeback was childish, it made me feel good knowing that at least one of my older siblings cares enough about me to defend me.

A tick mark grew visible on her forehead and her right eyebrow started twitching.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Leiko reached across the table and grabbed Akio by the collar.

"YOU BAKA YOU HEARD ME!"

"NANI?"

*POW**BUMP*

Leiko and Akio sat back down with bumps on their heads. They looked over to mom with childish tears in there eyes.

"Now look," my mom said in a sweet voice while cracking her knuckles. She had just finished setting the table while they were going at it. "Let me be clear about dinner tonight."

"It's been almost a month since we all had dinner together as family. Now I understand that you guys," mom pointed at dad, Leiko, Keiji, and Akio, "are ninjas and have to go away for missions for a long period of time. I used to be an active ninja myself and I am well aware of the responsibilities you guys have. However, I will NOT under any circumstances tolerate any harassment or bullying of each other. Do I make my self clear?"

My mom gave all of us an expectant glare. We were all to scare to say anything (though Dad and Goro looked at the whole ordeal with amusement) and we just dumbly nodded our head. A smile etched itself onto mom's face.

"Good, now Akio apologize to Leiko and Leiko apologize to Machiko."

"But-"

"**_Now._**"

"Sorry." They both murmured at the same time while looking down at the table and folding their arms.

Keiji and dad rolled their eyes at those two, most likely due to the behavior they're exhibiting.

Once my mom sat herself down, we began to eat. There was an awkward silence that quickly filled the room. The only sounds you heard were the clinking sounds from our utensils touching our plates as we ate.

As we ate, I stole glances of my family from the corner of my eyes.

You see, in total there are seven of us. You have my mother and father named Sakura and Sasuke. Then you have Leiko, Keiji, Akio, me and then lastly Goro.

First, I have my oldest sister whose name is Leiko Uchiha. She is one of the few strongest Anbu leaders in Konoha. She graduated from the academy when she was eight, became an Anbu when she was 11, and is currently the leader of an Anbu squad at the age of 17. She ranked the second smartest in her academy class and was only beaten by a Nara. She's, according to my father, is the perfect example of an Uchiha as far as talents.

However, I, nor can the rest of the family, can't say that her attitude is perfect. Her arrogance and ego is bigger than the size of the universe, for the lack of better words. She has this very bratty and entitled attitude, which is very annoying. Naruto-san, who is the 6th Hokage, always exclaims how her arrogance is worse than fathers.

As for her looks, her hair is maroon red and it stops at the middle of her back. Her complexion and nose shape is like moms and her eye color and shape is like dads. She's pretty tall for a woman as she is 5 feet, 10 inches.

Two years after Leiko, the second oldest was born and his name is Keiji Uchiha. He graduated from the academy at 10 years old, became a jounin at 12, and is currently serving as an Anbu at 15. His strength and Leiko's strength are pretty much on par with each other. Leiko admitted that Keiji has only beaten her in a sparring match once, though personally I believe it has happened more than one time. However, for her to even admit defeat is a BIG step for her and a big compliment for her opponent.

Attitude wise, he is a lot like dad and a little bit like mother. He has a bad temper but is mostly reserved and content. Well, content with everyone else I should say. He, like everyone else, doesn't really favor me all too much. To him, I am the annoying little sister that "has no business being in the ninja world."

Father says that Keiji looks like how uncle Itachi would've look like if he didn't have a pony tail. He obviously got the Uchiha gene in him. He got dad eyes, complexion, hair color and even hair texture. Dad says that, despite Keiji not looking anything like mother, he is still an example of good genes being mixed together with exact precision.

Four years after Keiji was born came Akio Uchiha, who's currently 11 years old and is a high leveled chunin. He graduated from the academy at eight with the top scores in his class. He just became a chunin three months ago and the village council is already thinking about promoting him to jounin status.

Looks wise, his hair is like a black version of Kiba-san's hair. His hair is mostly black, however the tips of his hair is oddly enough pink. He has mom's eyes, both shape and color; and his attitude is like how mom would be if she didn't have a bad temper.

Then you got me, Machiko Uchiha. I am eight years old and am currently attending the ninja academy. My grades are between average and advance, though not advance enough to graduate early. From the way things are looking, I won't graduate until I'm 12.

As for my attitude, people say it's mixed. They claim it's like father's in the sense of me not wanting to be bothered by people, but yet I can easily get upset like my mom.

Lastly, I have my little one year old brother name Goro Uchiha. He so far looks like dad with mom's complexion. His eyes are shaped like dads, but are the color of mom's. His hair is even doing that swoop shape like his. I can't really tell what his attitude is, but all I can tell is that he is very obedient and possibly reserved. I will have to wait until he's older in order to tell what it is.

"OW!" I suddenly felt someone kick me in the shin from under the table. I lifted up my leg, put it on the chair and rubbed the spot where I was kicked. When I looked down at it, I could see a small bruise already starting to form.

"Machiko, what happened?" Mom asked worriedly. Dad already had a face of annoyance while the rest of the clan looked on as they ate.

"Leiko kicked me!"

"Oh save the tears and suck it up. It was an accident" Leiko said annoyed, though I seriously doubt it was an accident.

"Leiko don't you start and Machiko, I'm pretty sure she kicked you on accident." Mom got up to inspect my leg. "Honestly, I don't even see a bruise."

"But mom-" Mom went back to take a seat.

"Stop complaining, you're being annoying" Keiji told me with a stern voice.

"Machiko, if you're going to become a ninja you got to learn how to deal with small injuries and be prepare for surprise attacks." Dad started lecturing me. Great, just what I needed. "Take Akio for example. He always getting some type of bruise or scratch but you don't see him complaining now do you?"

I adverted my eyes away from father and took my leg off the chair.

"Its no use lecturing her dad, it is obvious that doing so is a waste of time and effort." Leiko said matter-of-factly. It took all of my strength not to jump across the table and punch her.

All of a sudden there was a slamming sound at the end of the table. Akio had slammed his hands down on the table, which had effectively gaining all of our attention.

"Will you guys LEAVE HER ALONE?" Akio yelled angrily. "IT'S NOT HER FAULT THAT SHE'S NOT A PRODGIDY OR HIGHLY ADVANCE NINJA. INSTEAD OF SITTING HERE AND TALKING LITTLE OF HER, HOW ABOUT YOU HELP HER BECOME STRONGER?"

"HA, YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! I DON'T SEE YOU HELPING HER!" Leiko fired back angrily.

"THAT'S BECAUSE I'M BUSY MOST OF THE TIME UNLIKE YOU, WHO RARELY HAVE MISSIONS!

"That is a lie," Keiji butted in the conversation, "us Anbu members do have a lot of missions, it's just that most requires us to guard or watch things in the village with camouflage. Just because we don't have our uniforms on, doesn't mean we aren't doing any missions. Now sit down and stop causing unnecessary ruckus." Keiji said calmly, sounding a lot like father.

Akio gritted his teeth.

"'I. wasn't. talking. to. you. _Keiji_." He was still standing up and at this point was angrily leaning all in Keiji's face.

Keiji remained in his seat and narrowed his eyes dangerously at Akio. "You better watch your tone with me, _Akio_.'

"Keiji, Akio that is enough!" Father said sternly and forcefully, looking at the both of them with annoyance. "I expected more from you two."

Mother sat back with a look of disappointment and dejectedness in her seat as she watched what was happening at the table. Goro was started to act a bit restless and anxious in his seat while Leiko was glaring at me as if she was silently saying it was my fault that this was happening.

I look back and forth between Keiji and Akio, who were silently seizing each other up by glaring at each other. Tension in the room was starting to rise and it was starting to make me feel awkward. However, after what felt like an hour Akio agitatedly moved away from Keiji's face.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm going to bed. I have to get ready for a mission tomorrow anyways." Akio said angrily as he left and, despite protest from mother, stomped up the stairs and slammed the door to his room. He left behind his unfinished plate.

Dad started rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm himself down and Mom started to quietly sob. Keiji, Leiko and I stared at her with worry.

"Mother?" Leiko asked, and for once she sounded sincere and worried for someone other than herself.

Mom had abruptly got up with watery eyes and looked at us.

"All I wanted," Tears were pouring down her cheek now, "was a normal dinner with all of us as a one big happy family. That's all I ever wanted."

"Mom I-"

"But apparently, that's too much to ask for." She grabbed Goro out of his high chair and quickly went upstairs.

"Sakura, wait!" Father got up looking wide eyed and went after her upstairs. Once he was out of sight, however, Leiko and Keiji glared at me.

"Look at what you started, Machiko." Keiji said accusingly.

"Yeah, you just had to ruin our family dinner?" Leiko said as she and Keiji got up.

"Wait a minute! How did I mess up dinner?" I fired back angrily. "If it's anybody who messed up dinner, it would be you two with your messed up attitudes!"

"Excuse you? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" At this point, Leiko was grabbing me by the collar of my shirt with her Sharigan activated.

Keiji separated us by pushing us away from each other, causing me to fall onto the floor and Leiko to almost loose her balance. He told Leiko to calm down.

With one final glare they both left and now I was all alone in the dinning room on the floor.

Tears started running down my cheek and I put my head in my hands. I don't get what I did wrong.

"Did I really mess up dinner? I didn't mean to ruin family dinner." I whispered to myself pathetically. It seems that I always ruin everything.

"**_One day, my dear child, we will make them all pay_**."

"H-huh?" I wiped my face with a napkin and looked around the kitchen. I just heard a voice of a man, a man that sounded sinister, talking in my ear. However, when I looked around there was no one there except me.

"_That was strange..._" I thought. The voice sounded raspy and snake like. All of a sudden the right side of my neck started to burn again, this time the pain was more painful than usual and lasted longer. I couldn't help but double over in pain as I held my neck with my left hand.

After ten minutes, the pain finally resided. I shook my head and drunk some water. Maybe my body was so worn out from today that it is making me have these bad reactions.

I looked at the dirty dishes that were in the sink and on the table. Even though I don't feel like it, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to wash the dishes. After all, it's the least I could do after causing all this trouble.

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><p>For the rest of the evening I washed the dishes, took a shower, and got into the bed to go to sleep.<p>

I lay in the bed and looked out the window. I could see the stars sparkling in the dark black sky. Slowly, one by one the stores were shutting down for the night. I could see people walking home and ninjas patrolling the village. The once vibrant and bustling village was now quiet and dull.

As I close my eyes to go to sleep, I could've sworn I seen a tall figure in the distance with a cloak on. I also could've sworn it had a tail coming out from its behind. But maybe, and hopefully, that's just my tired brain way of telling me to go to sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the very long hiatus. To be honest, I have no "legitimate" reason why I went on one for so long without any chapter updates from me other than the fact that my interest in Naruto is dwindling.**

**One thing that I've always dislike with some authors is that some of them just abandon their stories without any notice. I have just recently realized that I've became said author. With that said, if it comes down to it I will simply let another author adopt this story. Though it isn't the best, I see that it does have potential.**

**To try to get into the swing of things, I will try to update this story at least once a month. I'm not making any promises on that though.**

**I will also be editing this chapter and the 2****nd**** chapter as I have noticed some mistakes in them.**

**Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**~jaber**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter has been revised.**

**Note: This chapter takes place 21 years after Shippuden. **

" Hello." Talking or narrator

"_Hello." Thought or emphasis_

"**Hello." Demonic voice**

* * *

><p><em>Machiko Uchiha, 12 years old<em>

* * *

><p>"WHAT?!"<p>

With the exception of Kiyoshi Uzumaki and Hisoka Yamanaka, who were the only one to scream the exclamation, the whole class covered their ears. Both the idiots had effectively made me and everyone around them temporarily deaf.

I rubbed the temples on my forehead and sighed. I can't believe what I'm hearing coming out of Iruka-sensei's mouth. Of all the people I could be teamed up with, it would be those two idiots.

"_Honestly, what was he thinking?! I don't have time for this nonsense._" I thought irritated.

Iruka-sensei twisted his pinky finger in his ear with an annoyed look on his face.

"Kiyoshi and Hisoka," Iruka glared at the two. "You have four seconds to sit down before I decide to not make the both of you ninjas at all!"

Hisoka got the right idea and sat down with his arm folded. Kiyoshi, however, slammed his hands down.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE PAIRED UP WITH AN ASSHOLE AND THAT THING!?" Kiyoshi pointed a finger at us. My eyebrow twitched.

"Excuse you?"

"I don't appreciate you referring to my dick as a "thing"."

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT YOU NASTY, DEMENTED BA-"

"WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT UP?!" I was so annoyed to the point where I needed to strangle somebody right now.

Kiyoshi murmured something about "assholes" before he finally sat down and pouted.

Iruka sensei folded his arms and looked at Kiyoshi.

"As I said before I started calling out the teams Kiyoshi," Iruka started looking at all of us so we know that he was talking to us. "I have no control over who gets put in whose team. The only person who has control over that is your father. Now team seven your sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

"Tch, whatever." Kiyoshi lay back in his chair, put his feet on the desk, and looked out the window. With the exception of me and three other females, all the other girls in the class got excited and started murmuring how "cool" Kiyoshi was. I snorted at their stupidity.

"_If that's cool, then I rather be warm_."

I stole a quick glance at Kiyoshi and Hisoka since they both sat next to me.

Kiyoshi Uzumaki, whose whole name is Kiyoshi Hyuuga Uzumaki, is the son of Hinata Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki. From what I have seen thus far, he is extremely bratty and doesn't have a care of the world about other people. His hair is like if you where to throw a bucket of water at Naruto-san's hair. His eyes are a deep blue color, but he oddly enough has no pupils. As for his clothes, he is wearing a dark violet T-Shirt that has a red spiral on it, along with the typical ninja pants.

Hisoka Yamanaka, on the other hand, is just plain weird. His parents are Ino and Sai Yamanaka. His hair is in a ponytail, though the ponytail it self is half as long as Ino-san's. His hair color is black, along with his eyes. His clothes are just like his father with the only difference is the shirt length since Hisoka shirt stops at his waist. For some reason, he likes to talk about penises a lot and make a lot of sexual puns.

Iruka sensei sighed and rolled his eyes. I'm pretty sure he can't wait for today to end so he won't have to deal with these two in the class anymore-mainly Kiyoshi. He used his fingers as a whistle to get our attention and started calling out the other teams.

"Team eight- Shinobu Hozuki, Daiki Inuzuka, and Tenji Hyuuga. Your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi."

"Team nine- Hisano Nara, Shigeo Akimichi, and Tatsuo Hyuuga. Your sensei is Konohamaru Sarutobi.

"Team 10….." He continued going down the list. Some people where happy with their placements, others weren't. Luckily and thankfully, no one else did a big out burst like Kiyoshi and Hisoka.

"You are to meet your instructors tomorrow in here at 12:00pm. Do not be late or you will be automatically discharged from the shinobi force. Have a nice day and best of luck to you all." Coincidently, the bell had rung after Iruka's mini speech and majority of my peers rushed out the classroom, happy and excited that they graduated and became a shinobi. Kiyoshi stormed out the classroom and Hisoka walked out with a thoughtful expression on his face.

I heard a beep sound and looked at the watch that was on my wrist.

"_3:05? I better start walking home. I don't want to be late for training_." I stood up, stretched, and started to leave. Hisano Nara had walked up to me while I was walking out the door and put her hand on my shoulder.

"I pity you, Uchiha. To deal with a bratty Uzumaki and a penis obsessed Yamanaka will be very troublesome." Hisano said tiredly.

I glared at her.

Hisano Nara, the daughter of Shikamaru Nara and Temari Nara, looked and acted like her father. Her hair is black and is like her mom's, but is in two spiky pony tails instead of four. She had on a plain, light-gray short-sleeve t-shirt with regular shinobi paints on. Under her shirt was a long sleeve mesh shirt. Attitude wise, she is laid-back but very smart. She's smart to the point where she graduated at the top of our class. I consider Hisano to be one of those types of shinobis that you can easily underestimate if you went on looks alone.

"I don't need your sympathy." Though rudely, I swatted her hand off my shoulder and walked hastily past her and out the classroom. I already got enough problems on my hands and the last thing I need to worry about is people pitying me.

* * *

><p>"This is your 5th time this week that you've been late to training, Machiko." My dad said while he was throwing kunais at a tree as a demonstration for Goro, who was standing besides him. My heart was beating fast as I walked up to the two, mainly from running home. Goro looked at me with a blank expression and shook his head at me. I couldn't help but clench my fist and tried to contain my anger and annoyance at the five year old.<p>

My father gave Goro 10 dull kunais and told him to practice throwing them at the tree that was about 20 yards away from him. Goro threw the kunai and unsurprisingly the kunai hit the tree. Albeit, it did hit the bottom of the tree and not the center of it, but none the less he did better than I did at his age. "_Waaay bette_r."

For the next 10 minutes, father and I trained against each other non-stop while Goro was practicing his accuracy. Father saw that I was already tired and he decided to reluctantly take a break. He went over to Goro and saw that Goro was improving as the lodged kunais were now more near the center of the tree than they were in the beginning.

Father smiled at Goro proudly but quickly replaced that smile with a frown when he looked at my direction. I gulped and tried to mentally prepare my self for the scolding that was about to come.

"You have improved quite a bit compared to how you used to be," He tilted his head slightly while he studied me. I blinked stupidly. Did he just compliment me?

"However, you are still no where near the point where you should be. Not even your mother was as weak as you currently are at this age." I looked down at my shoes. I should've known better. "She was able to last 20 minutes of sparing before she would whine and complain about taking a break. You can't even last 10 minutes."

I've heard stories of how weak mother used to be before Tsunade-sama took her under her tutelage. Am I really that weak to the point where my mom was stronger and even more useful than I was?

I could feel my dad looking at me with disappointment and tiredness. I started to form circles on the ground with my foot as I tried not to let him see the pathetic face I was making from trying not to let tears spill out of my eyes.

Silence filled the air as tension grew thicker in the air. After what seemed like hours of quietness, my father shook his head like he finally made a decision and sighed.

"Machiko." He turned his back to me. "I refuse to train you anymore."

I froze at that statement and looked up at my father with large, glassy eyes.

"Wait, wha-"

"I have more other important things to worry about than training an Uchiha who can't even make a decent fireball at the age of 12. I refuse to waste any more of my time trying to make you into a splendid ninja when I could be spending more time training your younger and older siblings who seems to perform way more efficient than you can."

"If you want to train, then you are either going to have to ask your siblings, your friends, teammates, sensei, or train by yourself. I am done dealing with you as a ninja until you can prove to me that you are worth it. I am sorry."

Each word my dad said stung to the core. I watched as he wenr to the abused tree and plucked out the kunais out from it. He went over to where Goro was at with a smile on his face. He ruffled Goro's hair and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Very good, Goro." My dad said proudly, making me practically die in the inside. "You're improving at an astonishing rate. If you keep it up, you should be able to graduate from the academy in about four to five years." Goro's face lit up at the compliment as dad started leading him to the house, leaving me all alone outside.

I fell to my knees and started sobbing. I couldn't believe what my father said. All the training and little improvements I did was futile. As I sat there and sobbed, the cold, hard truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

I have been disowned as a daughter.

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><p><strong>AN: Again, this chapter has been revised. <strong>

**Critique please.**

**~Jaber**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Chapter three is finally here guys!**

**Note: This chapter takes place 21 years after Shippuden. **

" Hello." Talking or narration

"_Hello." Thought or emphasis_

"**Hello." Demonic voice**

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><p><em>Machiko Uchiha, 12 years old<em>

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><p>Staying anywhere near that house was going to kill me.<p>

An hour ago I had left my house's training grounds and was now numbly walking around some gates that warned people about the creatures that were on the other side of it. Despite the sign stating the forest's name, "The Forest of Death," and the warning on it, I decided to jump over the gate and run into the forest as fast as I could. I still couldn't believe what my father said. Though it is not surprising that he felt that way, for him to actually confirm it and say it out loud was just too much for me to bear.

I allowed my legs to carry me as far away as possible from the outside world. Despite my body's protest, I continued to run and run until I had no choice but to stop and plop onto the ground on my belly. By the time I did stop, the sun was setting and the harmless creatures that took over the forest during the day were starting to scurry to safety before night fall.

I was heaving like a madwoman, trying to catch my breath. My lungs felt like they were on fire as I was running for at least 20 minutes before I stopped. Luckily for me, I was smart enough to carry a bottle of water so I was able to relinquish a little bit of my energy.

Once I got my breathing under control, I managed to sit up and look around my surroundings. It was eerie to say the least. Even though I was in a relatively open area, the leaves of the trees created a large shade that hugged around me with myself being in the only large spot of light. However, even then the light was slowly, but visibly fading into darkness because the sun was setting for the night.

Distress, I looked up into the sky. I still don't understand why I am being treated the way I am. I may have not been the most obedient child in the world, but I most definitely wasn't a bad one either.

"I am tired of this," I buried my head into my hands,"…oh so tired."

Yet again, despite me fighting it I let a tear slide down my cheek. One tear led to two, then three, then the next thing I know I was bawling like a baby.

"**There's no need to cry**."

I quickly got up and automatically got into defense mode.

"W-who's there!?"

It was that same sinister, snake like voice that I keep hearing. There's been only three other instances where this person or creature has tried to get into contact with me, and two of those times made my family think I am mentally unstable.

I used my right hand to wipe my face and my left hand to reach into my pouch to grab a kunai; however all I felt was a piece of cloth and three pills.

"_Shit I must've left my tools back at home on the training grounds! What do I do?_" I tensed up at the thought that my careless behavior was going to get me killed.

"**There's no need to panic, child**."

"F-FUCK YOU!" I grabbed one of the pills and threw it onto the ground, effectively creating heavy smoke covering a large part of the area.

"_This is my chance_" I was about to run off in the opposite direction that I heard the voice when all of a sudden my neck started acting up again. This time, however, the pain was so bad I couldn't help but let out a yell and drop to my knees. My body was shaking and the next thing I know my birthmark appeared and started to multiply. Multiple of the tiny triangles started to snake its way throughout my body. The triangles was glowing a reddish, orange color and it left a burning trail wherever it touched.

"**It's a shame that I had to activate the mark** for you to stop being difficult. Oh well."

The snake creature emerged from the shadows smirking. His voice changed mid sentence as he went from sounding like a demonic snake to a young, arrogant man. His skin was pale, white and scaly, and he wore glasses. Just like the figure I saw when I was eight; he had a tail that was equally as pale and scaly.

"W-w-what do y-you want from m-me?" I couldn't help but whimper out the question. I felt paralyze from not only the immense pain from the marks on my body, but also of fear.

"The question isn't what I want, Machiko, but what you want." At this point, the snake man was inches away from me and was crouching down to my level.

"I-I don't under-"

"I've been watching you since you've been born. Didn't your parents tell you?" The snake man sounded disappointed and sad.

"Tell m-me what?"

"Why Machiko, I am your godfather."

I stared at this man ludicrously. Not only does he have the nerve to admit in my face that he's been stalking me, but also have the nerve to imply that I am his goddaughter.

"Do you think this is funny?!" I managed to growl out to him without stutter. Either I was getting used to the pain, or the pain was residing because my body wasn't in as much pain as before anymore.

"Why daughter, I am serious." The snake man feigned hurt, though I could tell he was just being dramatic for his own sick amusement.

"Okay, if what you say is true," I managed to stand on my two feet now, "then why haven't my parents tell me about _you_ or make you my official guardian? Like you said, you've been watching me since I've been young so that means you have seen how I have been treated by everyone in that _damn _family." At this point I was talking angrily because memories of my family started to flood my mind while I was talking to this weird man. Added to the fact that the snake man is treating this situation like a joke, my blood is starting to boil.

"The answer to your questions is simple. Your parents don't like me because of the bad choices they made in the past, and so they want to act like the past never happened. Even if that means acting like I never exist." The scaly man stood up. This time I noticed that there were horns sticking out of his head.

"With that said, to answer your other question the reason why Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't give me guardianship of you is because it would be too risky to give up someone of Uchiha blood to a wanderer like myself. If you or anyone of your siblings falls into the wrong hands, a repeat of Obito Uchiha's demise could happen."

Even though my gut told me to not trust this man, I couldn't help but believe what he said. After all, what he says does sound logical and his explanation of my parent's actions did put some pieces of the puzzle together on the mystery of their past.

For some reason, whenever anyone ask my father or mother about their past, they both tend to tense up and react very strongly. Father would get angry and mother would get depressed. It got to a point where the unspoken rule in the house was to not even bother asking them about it.

When I think about the snake man's explanation, it all made sense: my parents treated me like crap because they couldn't give me away, and they are lashing out on me because I possibly am a constant reminder of the errors of their past.

At this point it was pitch black outside. The only light sources there were was the triangles on my skin that glowed an amber red-orange, the snake man body as it seemed to radiate bright with white energy, and the moonlight it self, which casted a soft, hazy light across the forest. A cool breeze hit our faces, making our hairs flutter in the wind.

"I do want to apologize for lying about being your godfather. Let us start on the right foot and redo our introduction, shall we?" He did the tora seal with his hands and my birthmark-or whatever this marking is-resided back onto my neck and faded away.

I dumbly nodded my head. Though I don't completely trust this man, it would be wise if I just follow his lead for now considering the fact that he can apparently control my birthmark at will.

"You already know who I am." I hesitantly began. "I am…Machiko Uchiha, the middle child of the Uchiha clan."

The snake man smiled and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Wise choice, Machiko-san. Let's make a deal, shall we?" His grin was sinister. I looked at him suspiciously.

"I can make all your dreams come true. You want to be strong? I have the power and resources to make you more powerful than your father and Naruto combined! It's not that hard."

I scoffed at him. "That sounds like a load of empty promises to me."

"You may not know this," the snake man continued, "but I helped trained your dad ages ago when he was around your age."

My eyes widen in surprise.

"It is true, child. Your father was kind of in the same position as you; he felt weak and wanted to get powerful faster. With my help and another man's help, I was able to form a slick, black handled sword just for him that was made with the finest metals."

At this point I was confused. I still wasn't sure if I should trust this man or not despite how convincing he started to sound.

"I was also able to help turn your father from an okay shinobi to a sannin level shinobi within three years. Now I bet you're wondering, why didn't my parents tell me about this? Well remember when I told you that your parents are trying to forget the past? This is one of the many events of the past that they are trying to erase from the younger generations."

I must've been gaping like a fish because the snake man smirked and said, "Pretty shocking, isn't it? That is why I want to make a simple deal with you."

"W-what's the deal?" I couldn't help but stutter as I was still shock from the information I was receiving.

"You let me train you, turn you into the splendid shinobi you are meant to be."

"But?" There has to be a catch.

"But, in return, you have to let me do whatever I want to you."

I instinctively stepped back and hugged my upper torso. That perverted bastard.

The snake man blinked in surprised and then realized what I thought he meant.

"Oh no no no." He shook his head and then rubbed it sheepishly. "I didn't mean it like that. I promise that if you join me, you will be in the safest hands and that nothing bad will happen to you."

"Are you sure?"

"You're really interpreting what I am saying completely wrong, Machiko-san."

"Like I don't have a right too! I was sitting here minding my own damn business when a weird snake creature comes out of no where telling me information out the blue and trying to make suspicious deals with a 12 year old!"

"Well when you think of it like that, that does sound a bit mess up, doesn't it?" The snake creature smiled. Though it looked sincere, I doubt it was.

"What is your name, anyways?" I looked at him up and down. I realized he was only wearing black ninja pants and black ninja sandals.

"That's part of the deal." He winked at me and said it with a sing-song voice.

I thought about his deal. If what he says is true, I could get strong within a short time frame, possibly learn about my father weaknesses and use it against him. I could also beat everyone in my clan and prove to them that I am not a disgrace to the Uchiha clan. As long as the bastard doesn't do any freaky shit to me, what do I have to lose?

"As long as you promise I won't get raped and or abused-at all- if I join you, then I accept the deal." I slowly stuck my hand out.

"You have my word, Machiko-san, that nothing of that sort will happen to you." He shook my hand.

The deal has been set. There's no turning back now, or at least not without any repercussions.

"So what is your name because as far as I am concern, you are the snake man to me." I looked at him sideways.

"You can't tell anybody this, but my name is Kabuto. If for whatever reason you need to refer to me to someone without exactly telling them who I am, you can refer to me as Bu."

"_Kabuto? Why does that name sound familiar?_" I've heard this name before and I couldn't help but ponder about where I heard this name from.

"It was nice doing business with you, Machiko." Kabuto said as he started to walk away from me and into the shadows.

"W-wait!" I yelled out to him. Is he really going to leave me in this dark forest all by myself?

"The exit out of this forest is northeast, where the light source from the moon should be. Just follow the light source to get out safely."

"Until further notice, I expect you to be here every other night as this will be our training grounds. Obviously the only exception to this rule is if you are on a mission."

"Training grounds?"

"Till' the day after tomorrow evening, Machiko." The light glow that emitted from his body vanished and I no longer sensed his presence. Just like he said, the light source from the moon pointed northeast, and it seemed to be saying "follow this path."

I looked up at the sky. It was at least 9:00 now. For the first time since I was ten I had missed dinner and everything, and not just any dinner as this was one of the few times the family was all there. By this time Goro would be asleep, Leiko and Keiji would be gambling with each other, Akio would be squeezing in some last minute training, and mom and dad would be trying to subtly flirt with each other in preparation for the night. Then you have me, who would be balled up in my room in the fetus position in physical, mental and emotional pain.

I sighed and grudgingly made my way home through the forest. The tunnel of light the forest created was narrow, and it was hard to see the end of it. I am a bit reluctant to get home because I am almost positive I was going to get lectured by pretty much everyone in the clan. Leiko and Keiji would berate me, Akio would lecture about how I need to be more careful, and mom and dad would talk about how they are disappointed.

However, I have an important meeting with my team tomorrow and I can't let them down because of my personal problems.

"I may have let my family down, but I will not repeat my mistakes with my team!"

With new-found energy and determination, I started to sprint my way down the forest and made my way home, looking forward to the new chapter in my life.

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><p><strong>AN: Hoped you like it.<strong>

**Critique please.**

**~Jaber.**


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